The Reasons I Moved to El Rancho Camelot
by clarabow3311
Summary: My name is Annie. I'm a typical 23 year old who lives in a little suburban estate called El Rancho Camelot. I didn't always live here. When I was 19, I used to live up in Canada in my own apartment in the middle of the city. The story I'm about to tell you is basically the reasons I moved here. It all started with a dream... (Really OTH movie with Annie added)
1. The Invention

**Chapter 1 - The Invention**

I looked at my reflection in the vending machine glass as I ran down the cliff from Vincent the bear.  
As I examined my body, I started to slow down. I looked incredibly different. I was now small and I had brown fur all over me. On my face, darker bur formed a mask around my huge brown eyes and I had a long stripe going from my little black nose to the end of my spine. I had a bushy ringed tail and four black paws.  
I immediately stopped running.

"I'm a raccoon?" I whisper to myself.

"Hello?!" cried another raccoon, who was also running from Vincent. He looked slightly like me, only that he was male and he had huge blue eyes instead. he had that look about him that told you he was kind and caring, but also a massive troublemaker. "Kind of running for our lives here!" he shouted.

"Sorry." I apologised and got on all fours ready to run again.

Suddenly my head was grabbed and I was pulled aside.

Vincent held me above his head, his claws digging into my ears.

"End of the line for you!" He chuckled.

"Let me go!" I demanded, trying to pull his claws out of my ears.

"Not a chance!" He replied and then opened his mouth widely.  
I closed my eyes and expected the worse when Vincent got distracted by another voice.

"Hey, Vincent!"

Vincent closed his mouth and turned to the other raccoon. "Put her down!"  
The raccoon tried to make himself sound threatening and clenched his fists and gave him an uncomfortable stare.

"Our what? I'll have you to deal with?" Vincent asked, being smart.

This made the raccoon embarrassed. "Well yeah, that's kind of what I was going for." He mumbled shyly.

Vincent grabbed the raccoon by the head in the same hand that I was in and then held us high again.

"Please, Vincent, we'll do anything!" I shouted.

Vincent didn't listen, instead he opened his mouth and lowered us in.

"Vincent, we can get it all back!" The raccoon yelled, sounding extremely desperate.

This made Vincent stop. He looked confused, but hopeful at the same time.

The raccoon looked stumped about what to say next so I decided to give it a shot.

"That's right!" I begin. "Because if you eat us you'll have to do it! But we can get it...ALL of it!"

Vincent looked thoughtful, scratching his chin whilst he was thinking.

"My red wagon?" He asks.

"Redder!...ow!" the raccoon shouts as Vincent's grip tightens.

"The blue cooler?"

"Blue cooler on our lists!" he tell him. "...Gotta be blue?"

"YES!" Vincent says, pulling us closer to his face. "And I want my Spuddies!" He puts his arms by his side and he hits us off his waist. "I love those things. Coz with a Spuddy, enough... just isn't enough."

"So true!" I agree.

"PAINFULLY true!" the raccoon follows, trying to tell him that he was really hurting us. "And I'll tell you what, I'm going to get you the giant-picnic-pack-family-fun size!"

This made me giggle. Vincent would never fall for _that_!

"Do they have that?" Vincent asks excitedly.

"I'm pretty sure!" He replied.

"And while you're at it, you wanna get me one of those magical flying unicorns that shoot lasers using its eyes? I've always wanted one of those!" I say sarcastically. I was given two glares from the boys.

"Alright RJ." Vincent says, turning to the other raccoon.

So that's his name! I wonder what it stands for.

"I'm going back to sleep." Vincent continues. "When that moon is full, I'm waking up and all my stuff better be right back where it was!"

"But that's just one week!" RJ cried. "That's impossible for two guys...ow!" Vincent's claws dug into his ears. "A week's perfect, I'll get some helpers!"

"Full moon, all my stuff." Vincent reminded us. "And don't even think about running away because if you do, I will hunt you down and kill you!"

I felt like crying. For those who don't know why, here are the few reasons.  
My life is in jeopardy.  
I'm not even in my own body.  
I now have to spend the rest of the week with some dude that I only learned the name of 5 seconds ago. What could be worse?

That's when Vincent threw us on the ground and that's also when I fell out of bed and banged my head off the floor.

I scrambled back on to my bed and rubbed my head. I hadn't fallen out of bed in a long, long time and I'd forgotten how sore it felt.

I looked at myself in my mirrored wardrobe. I was no longer a raccoon, but a 19 year old girl.  
My long black hair was as messy as usual and my brown eyes twinkled in the sunlight that shone though my bedroom window.  
I was wearing my panda onesie and the slippers to match.

After looking at my reflection, I got changed, ate breakfast, put on some make up and sat down in the living room with a cup of coffee to watch some TV.

I had just made myself comfortable, when there was a knock on the door.  
I got up and answered it, to find my well and truly crazy dad with a box covered by a cotton cloth under his arm.

"Ah, Anastasia! How lovely it is to see you again. I must show you this." He exclaimed loudly as he barged past me and into my house.

"Hi dad! It's great to see you too, but I've told you a million times not to call me that! It's Annie, ok?" I told him, closing the door.

"Yes, yes." dad said, gesturing me to stop talking. "Sit down Anastasia, you have to see my latest invention!"

I rolled my eyes and sat down on the couch.

My dad was into inventing things. All his life he's been trying to create a portal to a parallel universe. He failed every time he tried, but he never gave up. That's the thing I admire about my dad. He believes in himself and even though he was crazy, he always used to tell me that I should never give up on myself and that I could achieve great things if I keep trying.

"I have a good feeling about this one!" he said and he lifted the cloth of the box dramatically. "I call it 'the portal to a parallel universe 304!" he said proudly, putting his hand on his chest.

"This is your 304th try?" I asked, amazed.

"No." he replied. "I have tried many more times, 642 times to be exact."

I rolled my eyes and walked up to the box. In the box was what looked like a small vacuum. It was bright red and had a big tube.

I picked the tube up and peered in.

Without noticing what I was doing, dad shouted "Let me show you how it works!" and he flipped the switch at the back of the machine.

I couldn't get away quick enough and I was immediately sucked in!

It looked as though I was falling through space. I could hear my dad shouting "It works!"

I finally stopped falling and I began to float. I looked around to see that it was pitch black, except from the light that was given by the billions of shining stars.

As I looked about, a glowing speck landed on my nail. It began to grow until it was the size of my finger.

"What is this?" I ask myself as I examine it.

It continued to to grow..and grow..and grow until it I was covered from my toes to my neck.

"Help!" I cried. My voice echoed through the air. I know that no one was going to come.

Then another white speck, bigger this time, came hurtling towards my face. After that, all I saw was white.


	2. Making Friends and Enemies

**Chapter 2 - Making Friends and Enimies**

I didn't know how long I was out for, but it must've been a long time because when I woke up it was dark.

I sat up slightly and leaned back on my elbows, legs laid out in front of me. That's when I noticed something was up.

My feet and hands were black and I only had eight fingers and eight toes instead of ten. My body was covered in brown fur and I was a whole lot smaller.  
I slowly stood up and looked behind me. I saw a bushy tail with black and white rings around it.

I didn't even have to look in a mirror to know what I was.

I sat down on a rock an I began to cry.

"It's just like my dream." I whispered to myself. "I'm a..." My voice trailed off and I began to cry even louder, my black paws over my eyes.

After I had calmed down I wiped my eyes and looked around. I was in a forest with lots of trees and there was a small pond a few metres away from me.

I walk over to the pond slowly. The water glistened in the moonlight.  
I peered into the water and sighed as I rubbed my sore eyes.

"Raccoon." I finished and I sat down on the cold grass. "Dad?" I ask, looking up at the starry sky. "What happened? Why did you do this to me? This isn't even a parallel universe! I'm still on Earth, just in a different country!"

I couldn't help myself and began to cry again. How was I going to turn back into a human? How was I going to find a way back?

Suddenly a rustling noise came from the bushes to my left.

I immediately stopped crying and stood up.

The rustling got louder and louder until out of the bushes came a huge bear.

I quickly run in the opposite direction and hide behind a tree.

"Come out, come out where ever you are!" He said in a hoarse voice. "I won't hurt you."

I peered round the trunk of the tree to see where he was and right now, he was walking this way, glaring at me.

"There you are!" He said and he reached his arm out to grab me.

Without even thinking, I climbed up the tree I was hiding behind as high as I could. As I climbed higher, the trunk and branches got thinner. And by the time I got to the top, I grabbed on to the point of the tree and held on for dear life.

It was awful windy up there which made the branches wave about the place. The bear was also climbing up the tree after me and that was probably why I was waving about too.

"You shouldn't be scared, little raccoon!" He said as he got closer. "I heard you crying and all I want to do is put you out of your misery!"

It didn't take a genius to know that that was another way of saying that he was going to kill me.

"HELP!" I cried "Someone help me!"

"Have you noticed that there's nobody here? No one's going to help you!"

He reached his paw out towards me.

"Somebody HELP!" I cried, my eyes shut tight.

I tensed all my muscles, ready to die, but nothing seemed to happen. I opened my eyes to the sound of the bear growling in pain. He fell from the tree.

As he fell, I noticed the bear had what looked like a knife in his leg. After the bear hit the ground he got up and limped away.

Once the tree stopped swaying, I slowly edged my way back to the ground. Then I accidentally stood on a branch that couldn't take my weight. The branch immediately broke and I fell to the ground with a thud.

I groaned in pain. My left leg and my back hurt the most.  
I slowly opened my eyes. My vison was slightly blurry, but as it got clearer, I saw a figure standing over me. It was very dark, so all they looked like was a shadow.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"Not really." I answered. "It hurts so much."

"Come with me." He says and holds his hand out. I grab it and he pulls me on to my feet.

He then put his arm around my shoulder and he guides me out of the forest to a road. Of course this would be very painful for someone who had just fallen out of a tree, but I managed to cope without screaming as I limped.

We both crossed the road and over to a very messy picnic spot. Then we went further and we came upon a small cave, which he guided me inside.

Inside there were couches made of grass and a bed that had a fuzzy blanket, probably owned by a baby over it. In the centre of the room was a blazing fire.

Gently, he rested me down on a couch and brought the blanket over and placed it on me.

The light from the fire had made my vision clearer and now I could see that the person who helped me just happened to be another raccoon!

I recognised him instantly. It was the raccoon from my dream last night! He had big blue eyes and he had a stripe much longer than mine that went right down to where his tail started. He also had a blue and black golf bag wrapped around his shoulder.

"You feeling any better?" He asked me as he searched through his bag.

I ignored his question and smiled.

"You wouldn't happen to be called RJ, would you?" I asked. I brought my knees up to my chin and rested my hands on them.

He stopped looking through his bag and stared at me with a confused expression.

"How did you know that?" RJ asked me.

"Lucky guess?" I replied, smiling even more. "What does it stand for?"

"You know?" He said, putting his entire head in his bag. "I have no idea!" He took his head out the bag and grinned.

Then he took out a packet of chilli flavoured crisps from his bag.

"You hungry?" He asks, waving the packet at me.

"Starving!" I said, pushing my body upwards and rubbing my hands together.

RJ sat down beside me and handed me a chilli crisp. I scoffed it quickly and snatched the packet from him, stuffing my face.

"Hey!" RJ said, reaching out to get the crisps back. "I'm hungry too! That's the only food we've got!"

"We?" I asked.

"Well where else are you going to stay?"

"You're right." I agreed and I passed him the packet.

"Did you save me?" I asked looking into his eyes hopefully.

"Well, I threw the knife if that's what you're talking about." RJ replied. "But Vincent is still alive, he's going to want to kill us."  
"Vincent?" I remember that the bear in my dream was called Vincent.  
"He's been my mortal enemy for years. We've always been wanting to kill or steal from each other from the moment we met." He said, placing the half full crisp packet in the bag.  
"You're mortal enemies with a bear? But he's much stronger and bigger than you. He can easily kill you!" I say.  
"Well, raccoons are extremely smart." RJ points out.

There was a short pause before RJ decides to say something extremely weird.  
"I think I should just give up and let Vincent kill me." He says, staring sadly at the ground.  
This confused me a lot.  
"Why would you do something like that?" I ask.  
"Because it's obvious that sooner or later he's going to kill me so, why wait?" He replies.  
I gave him a weird look.  
"You should never give up on yourself!" I tell him sympathetically. "If you keep trying then one day, you'll defeat him." I put my paw on his shoulder to make him feel better.  
RJ attempted to smile, but he still seemed really sad.

He stood up and walked over to his bed.  
"I never really got your name." He says.  
"Annie." I yawn. "And don't you need this blanket or something to keep you warm?"  
"Nah, I'll be fine." He says, lying down on his bed. "Good night, Annie."  
"Night." I reply, pulling the blanket up to my chin.  
I made sure he wasn't looking before I cried myself quietly to sleep. I missed my dad and I was a little bit homesick. I hope he can find a way to bring me back.


	3. Deja Vu

**Chapter 3 - Deja vu**

"Rise and shine sleepy head!" RJ said enthusiastically as he towered over me.  
My brown eyes slowly flutter open. My leg felt extremely better, I guess sleep really is one of the best medicines.  
I sit up on the couch, rubbing my eyes. I then look past RJ and out of the cave door. It was still dark.

"RJ, just go back to sleep." I yawn and I pull the blanket over my head.

"Nu-uh!" He cried, yanking the blanket off the couch. The warmth from the blanket suddenly vanished and was replaced by the cold air that came through the cave door. The fire had been put out so that didn't help.

"Hey!" I scream, eyes wide and ears pricked up from the surprise.

"C'mon, Annie, you need to get up!" He giggles. He had found my reaction funny, but I really didn't see what was so amusing. "You've been asleep for ages!"

"But it's still dark!" I argue, looking at the door and trying to grab the blanket from him, although something at the back of my mind was telling me he's right.

"Still?" RJ asks, raising his voice a little. "Listen, a whole day has went by and you slept all the way through it!"  
I let go of the blanket and stood up quickly. Guilt poured over me. I had let RJ down. He probably wanted to go and find some food to eat, but he couldn't because if I had woken up and found that he was gone, I might've wandered off somewhere and eventually get eaten or killed by a bear or fox. I was glad RJ stayed, but we might starve because of me.

"I'm so sorry!" I apologise. "Please forgive me!"

"Quit your apologising!" RJ chuckles "I'm not mad with you!"

I smile before walking over to his bag that was lying next to his bed. I knew we had to ration the food we had, but I was starving at the moment and was dying for some crisps. I put my hand in his bag, searching for the packet of crisps.  
Suddenly, something grabbed my arm. I looked down to see RJ's paw wrapped around my wrist. He was glaring at me, but I could tell he was joking.

"No one...touches...the bag!" He says in a very deep and threatening voice.

"Or what?" I smirk, placing my hands on my hips.

"Or else..." RJ says He waits for a moment, trying to build up the suspense in the atmosphere. "Or else I'm going to tickle you to death!" He cries, his voice back to normal.  
I pounce back, taking my hand with me.  
He steps closer, his fingers wriggling and his arms stretched out like a zombie.  
I giggle and began to run about his cave. As much as I liked being tickled, I loved the chase as well.

"Come back here!" RJ screams, running around after me.I knew I had to give up at some point, but not now.

"Never!" I laughed. I knew I had to give up at some point, but not now.

With out knowing, I ran out of the cave. I didn't even notice the change in temperature or how dark it had gotten, I was laughing to hard and running to fast to notice anything.

Continuing to run, I looked behind me to see if RJ was still there which he wasn't. Before I could turn back round, I bumped into something big, cold and very hard, causing me to fall over.

I stood up and looked at the object, rubbing the part of my head that I had hit. I couldn't make out what it was, only that it was giving off a dim white light that could only be seen for a few meters.  
Just then RJ came running up beside me, the bag now around his shoulder. I felt a little bad about leaving him behind, but the face he was making whilst panting like a dog cheered me up.  
He too looked up at the item before us. After a few moments, his face lit up. He rummaged around in his bag for a 50 cent coin before running over to the bottom of the object and asking me for a boost.  
I run over to him and let him climb on to my shoulders.  
Once he was high enough, he inserted the coin into a slot and then pressed the buttons F and 2 then jumped down.  
There was a small beeping noise as a crisp packet came into view behind a glass wall.

"A vending machine!" I say, clapping my hand excitedly.  
RJ puts his hand through the bottom slot, ready to catch the packet.  
We both stared at it hungrily, one licking their lips, the other rubbing their hands together.  
Then it fell forward...and leaned against the glass completely stuck.  
The happiness and hope of finally eating something was gone.

"NO!" RJ screams, shaking the vending machine. The crisps didn't move.

"COME ON!" RJ shouted, also shaking it, but the crisps still didn't budge.  
He was so desperate to get them, that he shoved his upper body through the bottom slot and reached up to them.

"RJ, don't do that, you can get stuck!" I cried, but he must not have heard me.  
Eventually he gave up and punched the glass of the vending machine whilst coming out of the slot.  
He growled loudly and the packet.  
Then I had an idea.  
I tiptoed behind him and started to rummage about his bag for something I could use to grab the crisps.  
I found just the right object: a crocodile headed litter picker.  
I barge past RJ and shoved the litter picker into the machine.

"C'mon, baby!" I said softly as I attempted to grab the packet.  
I failed every time I tried so eventually I grew impatient so I started trying to push it from the bottom.  
Nothing.  
That's when I got really stressed and started waving the litter picker about violently, in hope it would hit the packet.  
I had actually shaken it so hard that the spring inside the crocodile head sprung out and broke the litter picker.  
I sighed heavily and took it out of the machine.

"Sorry." I apologised. But RJ just grabbed it off of me and threw it away, his gaze fixed on the vending machine.

After countless times RJ lost it whacked the glass of the machine with his golf club.  
Immediately, the lights in the machine went out.

"Well done, Einstein!" I say sarcastically.  
RJ gives me a nasty glare, but his gaze then falls on the reflection of a cave in the glass.  
We turn round to find the cave perched at the top of a cliff.

"Vincent." RJ muttered to himself. He clutched his golf club close to his chest, an evil look in his eyes.

"No!" I said, turning him round to face me and putting my hands on his shoulders and shaking him. "No, RJ, bad idea!"

"Are you hungry or not?" He asks me, sweeping my hands off of his shoulders. My stomach growled loudly in response.  
I blushed and looked up at him feebly.

"We'll be fine, trust me!" RJ said with a wink as he put the golf club back in his bag and swung it over his shoulder.  
I looked at him disapprovingly, my arms folded.  
RJ smiled, grabbed my wrist and we both ran towards the foot of the cliff.

Once we got there, RJ took a gravelling hook out of his bag. He cast it up the cliff until it reached the top. He tugged on it slightly to make sure it was sturdy before quickly wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me in.

"Hey! We've only just met!" I teased.  
RJ stuck his tongue out childishly which made me laugh.

"Hold on tight!" He says and with that he reels us up the cliff.  
When we got to the top, RJ immediately let go of me and ran behind a bright yellow sign at the entrance to the cave. On it, it read "Do not feed the bear!" in block capitals and had a clip art picture of a bear that made RJ gasp.  
RJ tried to look tough and fearless, but I knew that deep down inside him, he was just as scared as I was.  
He took a deep breath, rubbed his hands together hungrily and ran in.  
I didn't go in after him. I would probably slow him down and get him caught.  
I watched him as he picks up the first three packets of crisps he sees before he turns around to leave.

Suddenly, the pupils in my eyes grew huge and my ears bent backwards. My eyes travelled from the raccoon to the huge thing behind him, the thing that he didn't notice.

"Wow!" I whisper.

"What?" RJ asks.

He follows my gaze to a small mountain of cookies, crisps, sweets and all sorts of food on top of a red wagon!  
RJ made a small whimpering noise and dropped the packets he was holding.  
He held out his arms and walked slowly towards the food as if he had been hypnotised. He hadn't noticed that Vincent was sleeping right in front of him!

Just as RJ was a few feet away from the food, Vincent yawned loudly, giving the poor little raccoon the fright of his life.

He took a ping-pong paddle that a ball attached with a string out of his bag and used it to wrap the string around a high branch and bungee jump over the sleeping bear.

Accidentally, he landed on a cake tin. Then another. Then another. Then another! That's 4 loud noises and Vincent still didn't wake up!

As RJ got closer to the pile of food, I heard him mutter something under his breath. It was something like "Just take what you need...just take what you need."  
He then bolted up to the food and began to gather cookie boxes etc.

Seeing as he said "just take what you need" I guessed that he'd only take about 5 to 10 boxes. But no. He wraps the everything up in bungee chords and a blanket to keep it all in place!  
He jumped on top of his pile, looking satisfied. He then turned to me, grinning madly.

"You think we have enough?" He says.  
I roll my eyes and gesture him to come back.  
As Vincent's snoring got louder, I remembered that he was still in the way of the cave. How was RJ going to get past him?

"How are you going to get past?" I ask.

"I got it covered." RJ says reassuringly, throwing a pop-up life raft under the wagon holding the food.  
My eyes widened. What kind of genius idea was this?

"You're mad!" I said quietly.

"I get that a lot." RJ says back, obviously not taking the hint.  
He pulled out a button and shut his eyes tight. I did the same. This was going to be loud.  
He quickly pressed the button and the life raft popped up, sending RJ and the food flying through the air and over Vincent.

We both opened our eyes to see that Vincent was still fast asleep! How that bear can sleep through that, I will never know.

"Yes!" I say putting my arms in the air. "We did it!"

"We?" was the reply from RJ as he jumped down from the top of the pile.

"You." I giggle, "You did it."

RJ smiles victoriously, taking in this proud moment. He then turned around to push the food down the hill, but stopped. He had spotted, out of the corner of his eye, a can of Spuddies in Vincent's paw.  
I knew exactly what he was thinking.

"RJ, just leave it! It's not important." I whisper.  
He looked back at the crisps lovingly. I was about to give in and let him take it when he turned to me.

"You know what? You're right! They're just crisps. Who needs 'em?!" He says reluctantly.

We began to push the wagon. He kept looking back at the crisps as if he didn't want to leave them.  
Finally I gave in. He would never forgive me if I didn't.

"OK fine. But make it quick!" I say.  
RJ's face lit up.

"Thank you, Annie. Thank you so much!" He cries, skipping over to Vincent.

"He has to be the strangest person I have ever met!" I whisper to myself.  
Suddenly I heard a voice. It wasn't RJ's and it certainly wasn't mine.

"RJ?" the voice said. I dived behind the pile of food, praying that no one had seen me. The voice was very deep and hoarse. It sounded like...

"Eeehh...no?" RJ says, hoping the person who was speaking didn't recognise him.

"The moon's not full." The voice continues. "You woke me up a week early?!" ...Vincent!

I peer round from behind the food to find RJ and Vincent both staring back. I decided it was best to come clean.  
I walked out from my hiding spot and stood beside RJ.

"You again?" Vincent huffed.

_"_Offence taken." I say, glaring at him.  
Vincent ignored me. "Don't tell me you guys are dumb enough to actually try and steal my stuff!" He growled. "RJ, I'm going to have to kill you!"  
We backed away slowly as he raised his paw in the air, ready to grab us.  
RJ threw the Spuddies on to the food pile.

"Please. I'm just a desperate guy trying to feed his family!" RJ begged.  
That reminded me, where was his family?

"You don't have a family." Vincent said, hands on his hips.  
I gasped. I didn't need to ask if it was true. RJ's face explained it all. His icy blue eyes were round and watery, his ears dropped and he was slightly trembling.

"I meant a family of one." RJ says, holding up a finger.  
Vincent growled louder and advanced forward.  
RJ began to panic. He had to think of an excuse or we'll be dead meat. I had to help him.

"Wait!" I shouted.  
They stopped what they were doing and turned to me.  
The pressure hit me. I began to sweat and panic as much as RJ. I didn't think this through. What was I going to say?

"Eh...well...it's still in the cave." I say.  
They didn't understand. They stared at me with blank faces.

"So...technically not stolen!" I clarify. Was that good enough?

"Exactly!" RJ agreed. He tried to smile as a thank you, but he just couldn't.

He took a step backwards...and bumped into the wagon, sending the stolen cookies, crisps and doughnuts flying down the cliff.

"Well now it isn't." I said, disappointed.  
I found it quite ironic actually. The fact that just after I said "It's still in the cave" it rolls away.

We all ran to the front of the cave, watching it as it fell past all the rocks and plants, getting closer to the road.

"No!" Vincent screamed.

Once it rolled on to the road, it began to slow down.

"Slow!" Everyone said.

I leaned against the wall of the cave and watched as RJ tried his best to not to fall off the ledge.

"You've really done it this time, RJ." I say, shaking my head.  
To be honest, I had no idea how I could keep my cool in such a situation.

Suddenly Vincent yelled "STOP!" Magically the wagon stopped in the middle of the road.  
The raccoon and bear both sighed in relief.

"Well that was close!" I said, unfolding my arms.  
The moment I said this, a van came past, honking its horn loudly. It drove over the food shattering it into a thousand little pieces.  
What is it with that? Is it just a coincidence or did that machine give me a magical power?

Vincent got angry and began to growl.

As the growling increased RJ grabbed my paw.

"RUN!" He shouted and we began to bolt it down the cliff.

Half way down the cliff I recognised something.

"Wait a minute..." I said to myself, slowing down.  
RJ stopped and turned to me.

"Hello? Kind of running from our lives here!"

My jaw dropped slightly. I had seen this all before. I knew what was going to happen!

"Sorry." I said.  
I was just about to start running again, when I was...you guessed it!  
Vincent grabbed me by the head and held me high up in the air.

"End of the line for you!" He growled.  
I spot RJ out of the corner of my eye walking up to Vincent.

"Hey, Vincent! Put her down!" He said.

"Or what? I'll have you to deal with?" Vincent laughed.

"Yeah, that's kind of what I was going for." RJ said.

Vincent grabbed him by the head as well.  
I actually didn't feel the least bit scared. Because of that dream two nights ago, I was looking at this situation with a completely new perspective._  
_

Vincent opened his mouth wide and was about to lower us when RJ spoke up.

"Vincent, wait! We can get it all back!" He screamed.

Again, this caught Vincent's attention and RJ gave me the "go-on" look. It was my turn to speak, however I didn't say what I said in the dream.

"That's right!" I say "You might as well give us a chance to get food for you! You know what? Why don't you give us a week to find all the food you need including the red wagon, blue cooler and the Spuddies, because I know, I mean I've heard how mych you love those things."

The two boys looked at me with wide eyes.  
Then it hit me. If I knew what was going to happen, then why didn't I just get us out of it? I am so stupid!

"OK then, little raccoon." Vincent said. "I'm going back to sleep. When that moon is full, I'm waking up. And all my stuff better be right back where it was."

"But that's just one week! That's impossible for two guys...ow!" RJ cried as Vincent dug his claws into his skull.  
"A week's perfect! We'll get some helpers."

"Full moo-" Vincent started.

"Yeah, yeah. Full moon, all your stuff." I interrupted. I then put on a funny voice, trying to sound like Vincent. "And don't even think about running away because if you do, I will.."

"Hunt you down and kill you!" Vincent finished.

I was hoping the impression would make RJ laugh, but that was the last thing he'd be doing now.

Vincent chucked us on to the hard ground.  
I was expecting to wake up as my human self again on my bedroom floor, but once I opened my eyes, I found myself still on the ground beside the vending machine, my fur wet from the puddle I had landed in.

I got up and shook my body until I was dry.  
I heard RJ shouting after Vincent.

"OK! OK, Buddy, you just rest easy, alright? 'Cause we are on it! In a week from now we're gonna be laughing about this thing, huh?" He shouts.

He turns round to me and sighs.

"Well done, Einstein!" He says, mimicking my words from earlier.

I ignored it. I didn't want to get into a fight.

He walked over to the vending machine and hit his head off of it.

Miraculously, the packet of crisps fell from it's spot.

RJ put his hand in the slot and took them out. He suddenly became so angry. He growled for 3 seconds at the packet he was holding before giving up.  
I knew what was going through his mind. He was thinking: What's the point? What's the point in being so angry when you've only got no one to blame but yourself (and your friend in this case.)

He began to walk away from me, trailing the crisp packet behind him.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" I ask, pointing to his beloved golf bag lying beside the puddle.  
He didn't even care enough to see what I was pointing at.

"You can have a look around in it if you want." He says.

I tightened the bag around my shoulder. You'd be surprised at how light it was for a bag that holds anything imaginable in it.

"Hey, RJ?" I asked, catching up with him.

"Yeah?"

"Have you noticed that Vincent only hibernates for a week?"

RJ looked at me blankly. I could see in his eyes that he couldn't be bothered to answer any stupid questions.

"Never understood the process of hibernating." I said, staring at the ground. "And I don't think I ever will."

Never before had I thought that RJ could be like this. I never knew someone could look or feel this sad.

I could've sworn I heard him crying.  
I didn't ask why.  
He had been through a lot today and felt extremely sorry for him.


End file.
